During my pregnancy with my first child, I had an ironclad birth plan; I knew exactly how my birth would go and there was no wiggle room.

When the cantankerous child went to eight days post date and had a major heart deceleration during a routine NST [fetal non-stress test], my perfectly researched plan fell by the wayside. Gone were my plans for an intervention free, no epidural birth.

Hello, pitocin.

How are you, internal fetal monitor?

Come on in, ceserean section due to failure to progress. Join the party!

When I found out fourteen months later that I was pregnant again, a repeat c-section never entered my mind, until I was informed by my long-time OB/GYN that he did not do VBAC’s [Vaginal Births After Cesarean] . When would I like to schedule my section?

After I picked myself off of the exam room floor, I found a VBAC-friendly doctor and hospital, and started doing my research.

So that you don’t need to start your research from scratch like I did, I’ve compiled a list of 5 things that you need to consider when choosing VBAC.

#1 What kind of incision did you wind up with?

This is arguably the most important deciding factor in your decision to have a successful VBAC.

If your doctor gave you a “classical incision” then I don’t know of any doctor who will allow you to attempt a VBAC since the chance of uterine rupture ranges from 4-9 %.

Luckily, the classical incision has pretty much gone the way of the Dodo Bird in favor of the more esthetically pleasing low transverse incision, aka bikini incision.

A low transverse incision affords you the best chance of success and the lowest risk of uterine rupture - between .02 and 1.5% depending on who you ask.

#2 How many sections have you had?

If you’ve had more than one c-section, the chances of finding a doctor who will let you do a VBAC are slim to none. The more incisions that are made on the uterus, the greater its chance of rupture.

#3 Is your doctor on board?

It is essential that your doctor support your VBAC decision. It is also essential that the “VBAC conversation” be one of the first that you have with your OB when you go in for that initial visit. Print out this article, print out the article that I linked to earlier, print out the ones that I’ll link to at the end of this article. Take them with you. The more prepared you are the better.

If your doctor isn’t comfortable doing a VBAC and you trust your OB’s opinion, ask for a referral. If your doctor won’t give you a referral then check out http://www.ican-online.org/ and join one of their local chapters. There is bound to be a woman in your area who can recommend a VBAC friendly doctor to you.

#4 Can you be your own advocate?

In a perfect world, everyone would support your decision to attempt a VBAC. You would encounter zero hesitation from your doctor or the hospital staff and you would win the lottery and be set for life. But, probably none of that stuff is going to happen so you have to be willing to speak up for yourself.

Know your facts. Know the costs and benefits of your decision and be prepared to stand up for yourself. You might surprise yourself at how much of a backbone you develop when you are forced to defend a decision that you’ve thoroughly researched.

#5 Know the risks of inductions and labor augmentation.

Labor augmentation is just a fancy pants way of saying you or your doctor is going to do something to try and speed up your labor. When it comes to a VBAC the best labor augmentation is NO augmentation. Some doctors may strip your membranes if you’re at or past your due date but you run the risk of an unintended amniotomy [fancy way of saying breaking your water]. The major concern with an amniotomy is that your labor will not start and due to fear of infection, you will end up with another section.

Pitocin, cervadil, and cytotec [FDA advices against use during labor] all increase your uterus’s chance of rupture and SHOULD NOT be used to help “speed things up”.

Talk with your doctor before you go into labor to make sure that you’re both on the same page when it comes to inductions and labor augmentation.

Even all of the research and planning in the world can’t control nature - my first labor experience is a prime example of this.

There are some situations when a VBAC is not an option and usually you can’t do a thing about them. If you’re classified as “high risk” then you most likely should NOT attempt a VBAC but I would suggest that you discuss your status as “high risk” with your OB.

Good luck with your decision and whatever you choose, I hope that you have a happy, healthy baby and a wonderful birth experience when all is said and done.

Links of further interest:
American Pregnancy Association’s VBAC page
Cytotec article from Mothering Magazine

As a new mom, I’ve had to get creative in order to fit in everything I want to do in a day. I’m sure many of you can relate - you might be juggling a job and trying to be supermom, in addition to finding time for yourself for exercise or fun.

I’ve found a great way to multi-task - I work out with my baby. He thinks it is so much fun, and I get a great workout while spending quality time with him.

Here are a few things I do:

• bicep curls, holding my baby with one hand under each of his arms.
• overhead press, holding my baby with both hands so that he can look down at me while I lift him up and down
• cradling him close to me in both arms, I do sets of squats and lunges - this also can work for getting him to sleep when he’s fussy
• lying on my back, I bench press him, which he thinks is the most fun of all. I give him a kiss on the nose each time I lower him, and he giggles on the way back up
• this might be obvious, but stroller walks are great! I run errands close to home with him in the stroller, and we make dates with other moms and babies to walk together.

Leah Hitchcock Ybarra is a mom and fitness instructor who blogs about health and fitness

Bringing home a new family member is one of the best things one can experience.

It can also be extraordinarily difficult, especially when you are bringing home the first baby.

Here are some of the basics I found that helped me stay as sane as possible during those first few weeks with your precious newborn.  It’s a wonderful time, but also one full of stress…not to mention lack of sleep! 

So whether it’s your first (or fifth!) here are a few things to keep in mind, so you don’t lose your mind!

Accept any and all help offered to you.

Resist the urge to try to appear as super-parents, and just say yes.  A neighbor offers to bring over dinner?  Yes!  A family member who is visiting starts doing dishes?  Let them!  A friend suggests she take the baby for a walk so you can stay home and nap.  Thank them and let the drooling begin!

That being said, don’t hesitate to limit visitors.

Just because Aunt Maggie offers to spend the first two weeks of your newborn’s life in your home promising to cook and clean doesn’t mean you have to say yes.  Your family needs its quiet time to bond as well, and if the idea of having house guests at that time stresses you out, by all means just say no.

Realize that chaos will reign for a while, and go with it.

Your house just might be a mess.  Showering will likely be a luxury.  You’re pajamas, on more than one ocassion, just might serve you perfectly well as clothes the next day.  And then as pajamas again that night.

 Amid all of this chaos,  you just might have a visitor or two. 

Remember, you are still YOU.

 Just because you’re the mom of a newborn doesn’t mean you forfeit being an individual yourself.  You need to nurture yourself as well as your family.  Eat a balanced diet, sleep (Ha!) as much as possible, reach out to friends and family, reintroduce your hobbies as soon as feasible, continue to indulge in things you enjoy.  Certainly, having a newborn changes your lifestyle dramatically, but you need to be a happy and healthy you to be the best Mama you can.

This is a magical time, but a challenging one.  Try to enjoy even the roughest patches, because as they say, the days are long but the years are short.  I know…that photograph above is my son’s newborn hand in my husband’s.  Seems like just a few months ago, but my son is nearly ten.

Dr. Diva, when not editing the Healthy Bliss Channel here, can be found (sometimes) at her personal site Watch me!  No, watch me!  Her youngest is nearly five, and she still finds these hints helpful.

From likeamilliondollars

In the past two weeks my house has been plagued by sickness. Between the kids and myself we passed around viruses we’d soon forget, and then decided to give it a second go round. Through it all, the only desire was to get and stay better. Short of putting my kids in a bubble or dousing them with anti-bacterial soap, I went on a search for ways to keep our immune systems in check. The simple answer was putting the right foods in our bodies. The right foods to give us super power immunity.

What foods keep you healthy? What foods give you super immune boosting powers? It’s as easy as ROY G BIV, the rainbow acronym.

Stephanie Tippe of LiveLonger123.com explains why colors are key for a healthy diet, “The appetizing colors of fresh fruits and veggies derive from the presence of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients known as carotenoids and flavonoids.” These are the elements that keep your body in top working form.

ROY

Red

Red foods have a variety of health benefits. You often hear an Apple a day keeps the doctor away. In fact, apples are on the Mayo Clinics list of 10 Great Health Foods because “apples are an excellent source of pectin, a soluble fiber that can lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. Fresh apples are also good sources of vitamin C — an antioxidant that protects your body’s cells from damage.” (Mayo Clinic)

From tomatoes to strawberries, red foods are high in the phytochemical lycopene, which most know promote a healthy heart. With Heart disease being the number one killer amongst women, eating more red foods is key to a healthy heart.

Orange/Yellow

Citrus food, high in Vitamin C, was always thought to be the answer to the common cold. There is no real evidence to show Vitamin C cures the common cold, although some studies have shown it helps reduce the risk of a cold by 50%. (Medlineplus) Vitamin C real task is forming collagen, which gives structure to bones, cartilage and more.

Consider another type of orange and yellow foods for fighting off infection, those high in beta-carotene. Carrots and fall favorites squash all have super immune boosting power. Yellow peppers, along with all bell peppers, are high in antioxidants which help neutralize free radicals in the body.

G

Green

Packed with all nutrients mentioned above, Green foods contain numerous benefits. Spinach is another one of Mayo Clinic 10 health foods, for it’s immune boosting powers. Try making a spinach pesto with extra garlic, garlic being a natural antibotic.

Image From Tiny Farm Blog

Green foods like broccoli helps the body make energy and is also an excellent source of vitamins A and C. (Cookingwithcolor). Eating broccoli raw, as well as all fruits and vegetables, keeps all the nutrients in the food, as oppose to cooking.(Yaoh) Not up for all raw?  Consider eating immune boosting raw food at the end of the meal “so they don’t loose their potency.”(Nancy Winlove-Smith)

BIV

Blue/Purple

Only one real blue food, there is no doubt blueberries pack a mean one-two punch. Blueberries have more antioxidant activity than many other fresh fruits and vegetables. (Blueberry council) And what’s best for boosting your immunity, “researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey have identified compounds in blueberries called proanthocyanidins that promote urinary tract health and reduce the risk of infection by preventing bacteria from adhering to the cells that line the walls of the urinary tract.”(Blueberry.org)

Purple foods like grapes, raisins and eggplants are packed full of antioxidants. Making news this month purple tomatoes have all the health benefits of blueberries. Plant Biologist Cathie Martin created the tomato by adding anthocyanins, pigments with the disease-fighting antioxidant properties. (TheSpec)

Image from TheSpec

Try adding more color to your diet. Fill your life with color and ward off sickness this flu season!

So what’s for dinner? Take a look at your plate. How many colors of the rainbow do you have? Remember, you eat with your eyes first colors are appealing to the eye, as well as your health!

Resourses:

For easy family friendly recipes Check out The Veggie Queen

GoodBelly Probiotic Fruit Drink and GoodBelly Multi are wheat free, soy free, and completely dairy free! The probiotic, used in GoodBelly promotes healthy digestion and immunity! And till Dec. 31, 2008 have money-saving coupons for Good Belly products.

Thank you to everyone who entered our Green Toy giveaway! I was blown away with the great responses. I loved reading about all the day to day changes that people are making in pursuit of living a greener life (especially how many of our readers are using reusable bags!)

Enough of that, what you really want to know is who won. 

Congratulations to Dorene! (comment #21)

Dorene lives a greener life by:

• Using reusable bags
• Recycling
• Buying items from thrift stores and garage sales
• Teaching her granddaughter how to go green

For those of you who did not win but would still love to have this cute eco-friendly tea set; visit Greentoys.com to find out where you can purchase Green Toys (you can purchase them on-line and in a store) including stores like Target, Toys-R-Us, and Barnes and Noble.

In addition to the adorable Tea Set, Green Toy also makes a cookware and dining set, a sand play set, and a gardening kit.

Thanks again to the kind folks at Green Toy for such a great giveaway!

You can learn about the day to day changes that Lena is making in her pursuit to live greener at Over Coffee - the green edition